Harry Potter & The Thousand Mysteries

29

Ginny

The aftermath of the Alexandra Smith incident sent shock waves reverberating through the castle. To begin with, everyone was simply stunned that a Death Eater had been working under their very noses for a second year running. When it became apparent that Alexandra had fled the castle in the middle of the night to join the Dark Lord, everyone began muttering darkly about how sinister Alexandra had always been and how they had suspected it all along.

However, after the shock had died down, malicious rumours began to spread like German measles throughout the school- only Madam Pomfrey was unable to quash these. Most of them concerned Harry and Cho- of course; they couldn't deny their affair, as that would achieve nothing except endangering Cho further. Only Ron, Hermione, two of Cho's closest friends and the staff knew of the elaborate hoax. The rumours didn't get to either of them, however- they were both used to malicious back stabbing, until, late on a Sunday afternoon, Harry overheard two Slytherins guffawing ridiculously that Harry had only slept with Cho because he had suspected Alexandra all along.

The staff tried to quash the rumours, by insisting that neither Cho nor Harry had had any idea as to Alexandra's true "identity". That, however, was simply untrue. So they faced themselves in a deep internal battle, where everyone else was saying things about them behind their backs, that they were having an affair, that Cho was pregnant, that they were actually secret siblings.

One person whom Harry had not expected to be so astute when it came to such petty playground politics was Ginny Weasley. She was the gossip queen of Hogwarts- she knew everything before everyone else, and helped to quash several rumours about Harry and Cho. Also, Harry had the sneaking suspicion that she started a few herself.

Harry decided to try her out one evening. He had heard from Parvati that Jill Neutron of Hufflepuff and Blaise Zabini were having a secret affair. (Hogwarts was full of secret affairs).

'Hi, Ginny,' he said, sitting down beside her on a sofa beside the fire. The Common Room was empty of everyone above fourth year- Harry and Ginny were the oldest there.

'Hi, Harry,' she said, folding down the corner of the book she'd been reading about Rasputin.

'Have you heard?' he asked.

Her eyes alighted with glee at news as yet unsavoured.

'What?' she asked slyly.

'About Jill Neutron?'

'The Hufflepuff? With Blaise Zabini? Didn't happen- Evan Davies started that rumour after she said no when he asked her out last week. Everyone knows that.' She looked at him pitifully.

'What about Millicent Fawcett? Did you know about her?'

'And the toaster that burnt her hair? Yes, of course.'

'Do you know the full story about me and Cho Chang?' He thought he would catch her out with this one.

'And how you faked the whole thing? Ron told me.' She smiled at him. 'There's nothing I don't know, Harry- get used to it.'

'Ugh!' said Harry in frustration. She probably was right- she did know everything. Then he struck gold.

'Do you know about Ron?'

At this, her gaze snapped swiftly from a grey cat, yawning by the fireside, to Harry. The playful expression on her face melted into one of stony severity.

'What about Ron?'

'Oh, you don't know,' he said, trying to hide his glee. 'So you don't know everything that happens in this school, do you! I thought not.'

'What about Ron?' She looked frustrated.

'You don't know, Ginny.'

'Tell me!'

'No!'

'Why?'

'Because it's very personal and embarrassing.'

'Could he get in trouble for it?'

'A lot of trouble.'

'Who?'

'I can't say!'

'You're so annoying, Harry!' She was ready to scream in frustration.

'And you're so un-knowledgeable, dear Ginny!'

'I really hate you, you know.'

'I don't care.'

'What can I do? What do you want? What do you want to know?'

'What do you have on Draco Malfoy?'

'Malfoy?' asked Ginny. 'I have lots on Malfoy.'

'Such as?'

'Well, he and Pansy Parkinson had an fling two months ago,' she said favourably.

'Really?' said Harry. 'I had no idea.

'Okay, what else?'

She paused for a moment. 'He asked Cho Chang out three times and she refused.'

'But she's half blood!' cried Harry.

'Oh, he doesn't care. He went out with Samantha Nicks, from the year below, and she was Muggle-born.'

'No!'

'Oh, yeah. Didn't you know? I thought everyone knew that. It must be some kind of sick fetish.'

'He'll be after Hermione next.'

'At least I'm safe,' she said. 'So come on, Harry, I told you tons! What about Ron?'

'All the things you told me about Malfoy are old- this thing about Ron is new. Tell me something contemporary about Malfoy and you can have your Golden Apple.'

'Um...' she paused, looking for something to tell. 'Oh! Oh! I know! He's been sending "unsigned" love letters to Alicia Spinnet.'

'Never! How many?'

'About five in the past two months.'

'How do you know?'

'Don't ask me to reveal my sources, Harry,' she said. 'Now tell em.'

'Okay, but this will floor you. Ron's been having an affair with...'

'Who? Who?'

'Claudia Janney.'

She didn't seem to register at first. 'Claudia Janney?' It became apparent soon, however, that she knew that Claudia was in fact the first name of Professor Janney, their Defence Against the Darks Arts Teacher. Her eyes rounded in astonishment, and her mouth fell open. 'Professor Janney!'

'Exactly.'

'Never! Ron wouldn't go out with a teacher! Not a chance!'

'So there you go- something you didn't know.'

'I think I'd rather not know that,' she said. 'Ugh!'

'Tell me about it,' agreed Harry. 'So anyway, how've you been? Why aren't you at a party right now?'

'I'm ill,' she said nonchalantly.

'Really?' said Harry, surprised. She didn't look ill. 'What's wrong with you?'

'Oh, nothing, I just couldn't be bothered going out tonight. I'm so fed up of meeting the same people, day after day, talking incessantly about the same boring things.' Something about her seemed to snap- it was unlike Ginny to show any kind of emotion, but here she seemed depressed and frustrated.

'Oh, I know,' said Harry, trying to soothe her. 'I feel like that all the time.'

'It's just the pointlessness of it all that bothers me,' she said, looking pensive. 'I feel I'm just wasting my time, sitting here, doing the same thing every week, going over the same dull, boring things with a thousand different dull, uninteresting people who wouldn't care if I died tomorrow. It's so aggravating having to go through all this!'

'I know,' said Harry. 'At least you can do what you want as soon as you leave school.'

'I wish,' she said. 'I'm going to get railroaded into some dull, boring monotonous job, where I'll settle down, get married, start a family, retire and die. That's it- that's all I can do.'

'Ginny, that's not true, there are plenty of things to do.'

'What? What can I do?'

'Whatever you want.'

'Okay,' she said. 'That's what I'll do. I'll do whatever I want.' She seemed quite depressed, which worried Harry.

'Are you okay?' he asked.

'Yes,' she said, somewhat stiffly. 'I'm fine. I just have to get something from my dorm.'

She got up, and strode towards the staircase, with a fiery glint in her eye. Harry sat, staring at her retreating back, before a firework set off by two second years diverted his attention.

***

Harry awoke the next morning to find himself the only member of his dorm still awake. Looking across, he saw that Ron and Felicity Nuncio had forgotten to close the hangings last night.

Rolling over, he had expected his head to roll onto the soft surface of the pillow, but instead it landed on something crunchy, like cardboard. Looking at it, he saw it was a letter, addressed simply to 'Harry'.

He took it out the envelope, and read,

Harry,

Non, rien de rien
Non, je ne regrette rien
Ni le bien qu'on m'a fait, ni le mal
Tout ça m'est bien égal
Non, rien de rien
Non, je ne regrette rien
C'est payé, balayé, oublié
Je me fous du passé
Avec mes souvenirs
J'ai allumé le feu
Mes chagrins, mes plaisirs
Je n'ai plus besoin d'eux
Balayés mes amours
Avec leurs trémolos
Balayés pour toujours
Je repars á zéro

Non, rien de rien
Non, je ne regrette rien
Ni le bien qu'on m'a fait, ni le mal
Tout ça m'est bien égal
Non, rien de rien
Non, je ne regrette rien
Car ma vie
Car mes joies
Aujourd'hui
Ça commence avec moi...

Ginny

Harry reread the letter again, but didn't understand a word of it. He had been taught very little French in primary school- certainly not enough to translate this much. He didn't know Ginny could speak French either- why had she sent him this letter? He though back to their discussion last night- this didn't seem to have anything to so with it.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and Nindy Laing came rushing in.

'Ron! Ron!' she shouted. 'Ginny's missing!'

***

All the residents of Gryffindor Tower had congregated inside the circular dormitory where Ginny Weasley and her room mates slept.

Everything in Ginny's bedside cabinet had been emptied, her wardrobe was completely vacant, and even the bed sheets, bedspread and matching claret red velvet hangings were gone. Her pillows had also disappeared and so had her bag. The pile of books that was usually beside her bed was missing, as was her trunk. Everything was missing except a single stick of lipstick, which she had used to write Ginny on the glass of the open window.

'Where is she??' shouted Ron.

'Someone owl mum and dad!' said Fred. George was silent, looking completely desolated.

For the second time that week, Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape were called to house quarters.

'What has happened?' asked Dumbledore as soon as he walked into the room. Everyone was completely silent as they turned to face him. 'What has happened here?' he repeated, more loudly than before, when nobody answered him.

'Ginny Weasley is gone,' said Hermione eventually.

The three teachers looked at each other, before Snape spoke.

'Everybody out! Leave Gryffindor Tower immediately and wait in the Great Hall for further instructions.

McGonagall walked up to the crowd of Ginny's intimates, who were sitting or standing beside the bed next to hers.

'Why don't you all go down and wait in the antechamber off the Great Hall?' she said, surprisingly softly, addressing Ron, Fred, George, Hermione and Harry. 'Professor Dumbledore and myself will be down soon.'

'Will you get our parents?' asked Ron.

'I'll get Molly and Arthur,' she said. 'I'll call Percy at the Ministry and ask him to get Bill and Charlie here as soon as possible.'

Hermione glanced at Harry as they followed the three flame haired Weasley boys out of Ginny's bedroom. Her expression was readable instantly to Harry- one half way between anxiety and helplessness. It was funny that she often wore this expression at this time of year.

They walked down to the antechamber in silence- no one knew what to say. Just as they reached the door, Harry whispered to Hermione.

'I found this letter on my pillow this morning.' He handed her the piece of parchment, which she read quickly, before turning to Harry.

'Edith Piaf.'

'What?'

'Edith Piaf! The really famous French singer- these are the lyrics to one of her most famous songs, Je ne regrette rien, or, in English, I regret nothing.'

'Why would Ginny leave me a note like that the night before she left?'

'Because I know exactly where she is,' said Hermione, a small smirk of triumphant superiority coming into her eyes.

'If you'll come in, please,' said Professor McGonagall as she came down the marble staircase. Steering Hermione and Harry into the darkened chamber, she turned to the three Weasleys and said,

'Ginny Weasley has fled Hogwarts.'

End of Chapter

Thank You

30

Non, Je NE regrette rien

The Hogwarts Express pulled out of Hogsmeade Station on a bright, clear, airy mid-July day. Harry Potter heaved his trunk onto the luggage rack, before turning to wave to Hagrid and Professor Lupin, who had come to see them off. Both had brought their dogs.

Inside their compartment, the atmosphere was more subdued than it usually was on the train ride home.

Ginny had still not been found- Hermione had refused to tell Harry where Ginny was, and it seemed she was the only one who knew. Mr and Mrs Weasley had arrived at Hogwarts at lunchtime on the day Ginny was found, shortly followed by her three graduated brothers. Dumbledore appealed several times to all the students to come forward if they had any information, but Hermione refused to budge, saying that she knew Ginny too well. Later, on the day the Weasley family had left to resume their normal lives, having given up hope that Ginny would be found, Mrs Weasley had a chat with Harry.

‘Ginny always knew that the one thing I always feared was that one of my children would be taken from me by someone else,’ she told Harry, as they sipped from their tea at the top of the South Tower, the room the Weasleys were staying in. ‘And, you know, she didn’t. She wrote her name on that window for me, Harry, to let me know that she had left herself, so that I would know she hadn’t been abducted, and so she could tell me that she would be all right.

‘I suppose I always knew this day would come,’ she said, her eyes brimming with tears. ‘Even as a baby, you could never hold Ginny down- she was always such a free spirit. She had more courage than all of her brothers put together- a true Gryffindor.’

‘Are you all right, Ron?’ asked Hermione, as the train slowly gained speed.

‘Sure,’ said Ron. ‘I think everyone knew this would happen.’ It was funny, thought Harry, how everyone seemed to know Ginny would leave. ‘She was always restless.’

All three turned their eyes to their books, and began reading.

Harry, however, was not reading. He was thinking how Hermione had managed to connect the Edith Piaf song with where Ginny would be. Harry didn’t see any connection at all. He had tried mentioning the song to every single member of the Weasley Family, but none of them had any reaction. Ginny didn’t seem to have had anything to do with Edith Piaf, or shown any interest in her at all.

 As the train rolled slowly through the rugged countryside, past small Muggle villages, totally oblivious to the cartloads of wizards and witches, which were passing beside them, Harry, Hermione and Ron were visited by many different kinds of people.

Throughout the day, Parvati, Lavender, Cho, Fred and George, Neville, Dean, Seamus, Lee Jordan, Alicia Spinnet, Angelina Johnson and many others stopped by to say hello. Pigwidgeon, Hedwig and Crookshanks all were very quiet and slept all through the journey.

So it was something of a relief to Harry when the train finally pulled in to Kings Cross Station. The tension in their compartment had been extraordinary- both Harry and Hermione were too afraid to say anything to Ron, even although all the Weasleys seemed to have taken Ginny’s departure rather well. It was, Harry thought, the sign of a strong family, when they were all so close and placid, even in times like this, when one of their number was missing.

As they loaded their luggage into trolleys, Harry thought about the year he had just experienced, with it’s roller coaster of events and emotions. Was this a year like no other, he thought, or just a normal teenage year? There still remained so many questions to be answered, so many riddles unsolved- still, a year after his rebirthing, Voldemort stalked the land, waiting for his moment to strike, Ginny Weasley was missing, Sirius was still a fugitive… The list could have gone on and on. Harry felt there wasn’t enough time in the world to solve the problems laid out before him, let alone deal with the other ones that were going to present themselves to him as the minutes, days, weeks and years went by. He felt very emotional as he stepped off the train after Hermione and Ron, and joined the throng of excited students and parents, reunited again. There still remained one family unreunited, thought Harry, on top of the Weasleys. The Diggory’s should have been welcoming Cedric home after his final year at Hogwarts today, he thought. But where were they?

As they stepped through the barrier into the Muggle world, Harry heard Hermione gasp in front of him.

‘What?’ he said, as he moved aside to let more people through.

‘Listen,’ she said, ‘to the music.’

As always, in a Muggle station, there was the background noise of a radio playing, through speakers dotted throughout the station. Harry, having grown up in the Muggle world, was used to tuning it out, but obviously Hermione hadn’t learnt to do that.

Harry listened over the talking, the hustle and bustle, the sounds of pigeons cooing around the station, to the music.

‘…Ni le bien qu'on m'a fait, ni le mal
Tout ça m'est bien égal
Non, rien de rien
Non, je ne regrette rien
C'est payé, balayé, oublié
Je me fous du passé…’

The rich, melodious voice of Edith Piaf resonated throughout the station, and Harry felt a lump rise in his throat as he thought of Ginny. Looking at Hermione, he could see she was equally emotional at this.

As they said their goodbyes, Harry tried not to break down completely into sobs.

Turning, he walked up to Uncle Vernon, who was waiting, as always, with a grim look on his face.

‘Come on,’ he said, and they wheeled Harry’s trolley out of the station. Just as he made for the exit, Harry looked over at Hermione, at another exit, preparing to leave with her parents. They caught each other’s eye, and both felt the deepest strand of magic flash between them both, as they listened to the last few bars of music together.

‘Car ma vie
Car mes joies
Aujourd'hui
Ça commence avec toi!’